ARTICLES ABOUT CUSTOMS DUTY BY DATE - PAGE 4

NEW DELHI: A CPI(M) member today demanded a roll back of the recent hike in excise duty on petroleum products and asked the government to pass on the "full benefit" of the sharp fall in global crude prices to the customers. "It is a situation of 'heads I win, tails you lose'. Whenever there is a fall in international oil prices, the government does not transfer the full benefits to the people. Instead, it imposes further hikes in excise duties as it has done twice in the last one month," M B Rajesh said in Lok Sabha during Zero Hour.

NEW DELHI: Any revision in gold import duty is unlikely to take place before the Budget and there is no proposal as of now to reduce the 10 per cent duty, a finance ministry official said. "On import duty (on gold) there is no decision at the moment. Import duty whatever has to be done will form part of the Budget. At the moment there is no proposal to reduce import duty on gold," the official said. There has been widespread expectations of reduction in customs duty on gold due to the improved current account deficit situation.

NEW DELHI To give a push to India's services exports, the government is working to make the export promotion schemes more effective in the forthcoming foreign trade policy. "What we are trying to do is to make it (Served from India scheme) more effective and also come up with some more ideas on services exports," Commerce Secretary Rajeev Kher said on the sidelines of a services conclave organised by the commerce department and industry lobby CII. The government is likely to expand scope of Served from India scheme by allowing exporters to trade their earned tax incentives in a bid to spur services exports.

NEW DELHI: The government's customs duty collections grew 32.8% to Rs 18,116 crore in September 2014, indicating that domestic economy and investment cycle may have turned with increased non-oil imports contributing to the rise in collections. However, 0.4% contraction in excise collections to Rs 14,288 crore indicates that manufacturing remains sluggish. The Narendra Modi-led government , which assumed charge in May, is trying to speed up project clearances and has launched a 'Make in India' initiative to boost manufacturing in the country.

NEW DELHI: Edible oil industry body SEA today said it has written to the Prime Minister demanding hike in import duty of edible oils as local oilseeds prices have fallen to historical lows due to cheaper imports. "As a remedy to the current situation, we would like to suggest the government to increase import duty on crude vegetable oils from 2.5 per cent to 10 per cent and refined vegetable oils from 10 per cent to 25 per cent," Mumbai-based Solvent Extractors Association (SEA)

NEW DELHI: With CAG castigating state-owned fuel retailers for overcharging customers by Rs 26,626 crore over 5 years, Oil Ministry has defended the PSUs saying they had absorbed Rs 28,680 crore in losses on fuel sales during that period. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India in its latest report stated that Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp overcharged customers by Rs 26,626 crore from 2007-08 to 2011-12 by charging notional levies like customs duty on fuel they sold.

NEW DELHI: Hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Make in India campaign and the emphasis on ease of doing business, India Inc today said the initiative mirrors the country's ambition to sprint ahead in the global manufacturing race, thereby creating jobs and boosting economic growth. "The Make in India campaign promises to fast-track India's growth trajectory by making it a manufacturing hub. Made in India, Made by India but Made for the World, with the vision of empowering Indians by creating job opportunities, the campaign is the PM's ingenious formula to position India as the centrepiece of Asia's next growth story.

By Ruchika Chitravanshi NEW DELHI: The shipping ministry plans to ask the finance ministry to remove customs duty on marine fuel for vessels carrying cargo for transshipment. According to the shipping ministry, the benefit to the economy from such a step would be manifold compared with the revenue loss for the government. India levies 25-30% customs duty on bunker, or marine fuel. Removing the tax, the ministry and shipping experts feel, would draw big container ships to Indian coasts.

KOLKATA: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) wants the finance ministry to retain the 10% customs duty on specified telecom products proposed in the budget, dealing a jolt to the rollback hopes of mobile operators that had said the move would erode overseas investors' confidence. "Imposition of customs duty on specified telecom products will create a level playing field for domestic manufacturers who suffer severe disability due to poor infrastructure and inverted duty," DoT said in an internal note to the revenue secretary that was seen by ET. The products include 2G, 3G and 4G network gear, including switches and broadband systems.

NEW DELHI: With CAG castigating state-owned fuel retailers for overcharging customers by Rs 26,626 crore in five years, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan today defended the PSUs saying they had absorbed Rs 28,680 crore in losses on fuel sales in the same period. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in its latest report stated that Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) overcharged customers by Rs 26,626 crore from 2007-08 to 2011-12 by charging notional levies like customs duty on fuel they sold.